Man Gets Life For Killing Teen Who Tried To Rob Store

OKLAHOMA — In a controversial court case, an Oklahoma pharmacist was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with parole for shooting a Black teenager in a 2009 robbery attempt.

Jerome Ersland told the court he was defending himself when he shot Antwun Parker, 16, after Parker and another young man confronted him in the pharmacy where he worked. The controversy and conviction came after jurors watched security camera video of Ersland pump five additional shots into Parker as he lay on the floor unconscious.

At the trial, prosecutors argued that it was those five bullets that crossed Ersland into the wrong. Ersland contended that he was defending himself and two co-workers from a robber who still posed a threat.